How Trip to PGA Tour Champions Saved Career of Mike Weir
By Tim Letcher
![HONOLULU, HAWAII - JANUARY 15: Mike Weir of Canada plays his shot from the fifth tee during the second round of the Sony Open in Hawaii at the Waialae Country Club on January 15, 2021 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) HONOLULU, HAWAII - JANUARY 15: Mike Weir of Canada plays his shot from the fifth tee during the second round of the Sony Open in Hawaii at the Waialae Country Club on January 15, 2021 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/89e9f7c4a8c1848e29e998f4cd587a77986b908a728cc6561f4d62bfcfa285eb.jpg)
Mike Weir won the Masters in 2003 but struggled recently for a number of years. However, a trip to the PGA Tour Champions saved his career.
Mike Weir is best known as a former Masters champion and a Presidents Cup player from Canada. While he hasn’t been heard from in a while on the PGA Tour, his name has resurfaced this week at the Sony Open thanks to a career-reviving move last year.
Weir won at Augusta National in 2003, one of his three wins that season. He won a total of eight times during his PGA Tour career, including the Tour Championship in 2001 and the WGC-American Express Championship in 2000
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However, as his career moved forward, Weir battled injuries and struggled to find his way on tour. After a decent year in 2014, Weir fell off the map and basically didn’t play on tour for the past five years.
He tried his hand at being an on-course reporter at the 2016 PGA Championship. But the fire to play still burned inside of Weir.
As the years moved forward, that fire never went away. However, Weir’s body would not allow him to return to competition. He took nearly five years away from the PGA Tour as he first tried to get healthy and then tried to get his game back into some type of playing shape.
Then, in 2020, Weir made the decision to try the PGA Tour Champions. And that move has saved his career.
After turning 50 in May, Weir decided to play a full schedule on the senior circuit. And he has done very well for himself.
In 2020, Weir had five Top 25 finishes on the PGA Tour Champions. That included three Top 10 finishes, one of which was a runner-up finish to a fellow left-hander, Phil Mickelson, at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
Weir has gained so much confidence on the senior circuit that he decided to try his game out on the regular tour this week in Hawaii. And Weir has done fairly well for himself.
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The Canadian opened his week in Hawaii with a 68 on Thursday. He followed that with a 66 on Friday to make the cut. He shot a 68 on Saturday and is 8-under par through three rounds.
Weir is inside the Top 50 this week and while that might not seem like much, it’s a big deal for Weir, considering where his game has been over the past five years. And he can thank a trip to the PGA Tour Champions for reviving his game.